[saratjyo]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first travelogue here on team-bhp. But I have read almost all the travelogues that pop up in here. And I admire some of them which I feel like they are living out my dreams. So I try to live some of my dreams too whenever I can and below is one of them.

The Planning Phase

So it has been a very long time since I went for a bike trip with my friends. The previous ride I did was on my Thunderbird 350. So this time I wanted to enjoy the curves in my R15 V2. So I started the topic with my friends and it was on and off because of various personal reasons including myself.

We were not able to conclude on the dates because one or the other keeps falling out. So we decided that we will decide on a date first and let the people join in who are available on those dates.

So it was decided that we will start on Feb 8th and end it by 12th. Now that the dates are decided, we got the final headcount of 6 all set to go for the ride. There were 4 bikes and 1 car.

So Where? I wanted this trip more focused on enjoying your drive rather than going for sightseeing. So we started drafting the route and finalised the below map.

The complete trip pattern


I have read the travelogue of Nandita and was having the name Vagamon striking in my mind always after that.

RIDES and RIDERS:

1. Sarath (Myself) – Yamaha R15 V2.0
2. Senthur – Yamaha FZ 150 V2.0
3. Nithin – Yamaha FZ 150 V1.0
4. Senthil – Yamaha Fazer 150 V1.0
5. Thirumalai – Hyundai Eon.
6. Baskar – Joined Thirumalai in his Eon.

This is the first full fledged mountain driving experience for both Baskar and Thirumalai.

Getting Ready

So prior to this planning I spent sometime going to an Auto Expo and ended up spending a good 10k on Helmet, Jacket and Gloves.

So I have them brand new waiting for the ride. I took a day off from office one day prior and washed my bike clean and waxed it to her glory and lube the chain.

After the full wash and wax


I already left my baggage in Thirumalai’s car and decided to carry only the essentials in my backpack.

I also ordered a Fego Float which is like a Ride-on-Air seat. It should have been delivered on 7th of Feb but ended up in my home only on 9th of Feb. So it was missed.

This is the Fego float. Yet to test it.


Day 1:

Plan: Chennai to Pollachi
Distance: 540kms

The previous day it was a usual misty early morning and a sunny afternoon. But during that night, I suddenly woke up to some noise through our window and found out it was the rain outside. Anyways we decided to keep our start time unchanged. I always prefer driving only during the daytime.

1. Nithin will be joining us near Ulundurpet as he will be starting from Pondicherry.
2. Senthur will be meeting us directly in Pollachi as he starts from Madurai.
3. I and Senthil are the two bikes that will start from Chennai by 5:30AM.
4. Thirumalai and Baskar will also start from Chennai and will be starting an hour late from our start time as we are at the other end of the city and they can catch up soon enough.

So I started on time and got the ORR road and met Senthil near Poonamallee junction. We started together from there and were taking it slow as it has rained and also it was still drizzling. By the team we reached Chengalpet toll, the climate was so misty and mountain near by it looked like we were already entering into a hill station.

So post crossing the Chengalpet toll, we started getting views of clearer roads and was able to gain a bit more speed. And after crossing the 2nd toll, we decided to have our first break as we have been driving for nearly 2 hours. We called up to check the status of the car guys and found that they were near us and we decided to wait for them and ride together.

Waiting for the car guys. First click of the trip. Left to Right - Senthil and Myself.




Also the soothing climate invited the hunger in us and we decided to stop for breakfast in the next good hotel we see.

At the first stop and meeting the car guys. From left to right - Bhaskar, Myself, Thirumalai and Senthil.



Starting the ride again after the heavy breakfast


And here we go


The next stop was at the Ulundurpet toll where Nithin will be joining us.

From Left to Right - Myself, Nithin, Senthil, Thirumalai and Baskar



After meeting Nithin, we decided to stop after 50kms. So we started off towards Attur and the roads were all ours. So we covered up 50kms of distance within half an hour and we were in for another tea break.

At the tea break. Sun started to show some light and heat from here on.


Earlier we have planned to have our lunch on or before Salem. But we were covering good distance and we have got good amount of time for the lunch to come and also we were not that hungry as a result of heavy breakfast.

So we decided have our lunch in Erode. And the sun started to show some heat on us.

And we reached Erode around 2pm and we decided to have our lunch. So we stopped on a hotel that we felt it will be good. I was not that hungry. So I had some curd rice and country chicken fry. It felt good and had good amount of water as the heat was high outside.

The orange colour in the below image shows how hot it was and no filters used.


Post lunch we decided to have our next stop to our hotel Pollachi, as we started feel the soreness and the back is starting to ache and the sun was showing all its heat on us.

So here is where Google changed our plan and decided to take us inside the city route of Tiruppur as it was set for the two-wheeler. Result is we were stuck in the scorching heat of sun and traffic and the confusion of whether it’s the right way. So by the time we got out of it, we almost lost an hour and got dehydrated.

So we again took a break and cooled ourselves and started our drive towards Pollachi.

Post Tiruppur it was a 2 lane, and it was a having some nice sceneries in some stretches. But we were not in the mood for a photo and we kept driving like maniacs and reached Pollachi around 6:30PM and we were tired like hell. So we checked in and took a nice bath and had some rest. Around 8 PM Senthur also reached the destination.

So the day went pretty uneventful except the change of course by our Google.

No. of stops taken: 7 (Including Breakfast and Lunch)

Road Condition: Perfect. Except very few stretches between Erode to Pollachi.

Hotel stayed: Nivethas Inn. Moderate experience. Not everything in the room works. But still it was clean. Has a basement parking.

Day 2: (The Drama Day)

Plan: Pollachi – Valparai – Athirapally – Vagamon
Distance: 260kms

The planned route for Day2


So on Day 2, it was one heck of a ride. We woke up fresh and decided to have some tea and start early for the breakfast in Valparai.

Gathered for our tea and some buns before starting our excited journey. Senthur joined our pics for the first time in the trip.
Left to right - Senthil,Thirumalai,Senthur,Baskar,Myself and Nithin


Luckily I didn’t have my shoulder pain today which started during the middle of Day 1. I didn’t get the shoulder pain for the rest of my trip. So only the seating part was paining the whole time which I somehow managed to reduce it a bit by placing my sweatshirt over the seat.

We started around 7 and we were driving at a normal speed and were enjoying the views that it offered until we reached the check-post before starting the hill climb.

The plain roads covered by trees on both sides are always inviting. And below are some of the shots from Pollachi town until the Aliyar Check-post.









My favourite picture of the trip






A formal selfie in front of the checkpost office




So once we completed the formalities we started off for the 40 hairpin bends that was waiting for us.

We left the car alone as they were first timers and requested them to drive it very slowly and cautiously and zoom..! Bikes went ahead screaming towards the winding roads.

We too were a bit cautious on our speeds and maintained our lane till the end. The roads were in perfect condition to reach Valparai. We stopped in midway and waited for the car to catch up, as we want to make sure that everyone is safe and good.

Waiting for the car to reach us.


And there they are even before the second selfie was taken


Aliyar Dam


On mid-way to Valparai






So lazy to remove the helmets. Ha ha..!


[To be Continued]

[saratjyo]

And we saw the sunrise with this beautiful view.

















Overlooking the dam







Once we all caught up, we again started towards Valparai and stopped for a breakfast in a lonely local shop which was built in a slope. Had nice egg dosas and half boils and relaxed our morning time chatting there. By the time we were ready to start, the sun was throwing some heat at us.





Our dosa master


Senthil waiting for his dosa.


And its my turn to wait for the dosa.


The shock of the trip!

So we started off towards Athirapally, and the sign boards were really confusing and we missed out a turn that has to be taken. We went ahead some 4kms to find out that we have missed it. So we came back again and reached the check-post to enter the Kerala.

Here they will be giving you a 2 hour timeline by which you have to exit the next check-post.

The roads past this check-post went from nice to worst. The forest was dense and gives you a nice adventurous feeling on seeing the elephant droppings all along the way. And I was seriously expecting that we would see them today.



And since I was in R15, I was jumping around along with the bike while driving through the forest because of the bad road condition. And the effect of worst road was shown to me immediately. Here is what happened. In the middle of the forest there was a bridge over a stream of water, where we stopped for a short time to click some pictures. Once it is done, we decided to put our helmets on and continue the journey. The other three bikes went ahead and I was the last one to start my bike. There was no reaction from my bike when I pressed the ignition button.

Below is the bridge I was talking about.




The water stream




I got tensed immediately because my friends left thinking that I will be coming in back of them and there was no network to call anyone to come back and the forest was dense and I was standing nearby a water stream where there was a chance of wildlife stepping out for a drink.

So I calmed down and checked whether the engine kill switch is on. But it seems to be in off position. Mostly I never use that switch. Then I removed my helmet to find out whether there is any sound from the engine when I pressed the ignition switch. Again nothing I could hear. I checked whether the engine check light is coming on while pressing the ignition switch. No. So I believed the battery is good but still was not 100% sure. So I immediately wore my helmet and shift the bike to first gear and hold on to the clutch and started running with the bike and released the clutch after getting some speed and voila. The engine came to life and a sign a relief for me..!

Left the place immediately to regroup with my friends who were waiting near a view point where we spotted some elephants drinking water far faraway.

The lineup. The cars was still catching up due to the bad road conditions.


Overlooking the view point




The Panaroma


The Elephant group


So we again started moving towards Kerala and the roads started to became smoother towards Vazhachal and reached Athirapally.

Quick selfie while Senthur was busy taking pictures of the falls at a distance.


And the beautiful roads once again.




We continued till Vetilappara bridge where the google maps asked us to take a left turn.

The roads again went from nice to worst. Again I was jumping around with my bike. But the houses here were so naturistic and covered with trees, that they had a small naturally created canal of fresh water running right through their front doors. And I immediately felt like it was the place that anyone can dream of by spending their lifetime living in those surroundings. Just heaven..! I just couldn’t click any photos as I was busy checking out them and doing the jumps in my R15 simultaneously. I am really sorry was missing it.

Next we started into narrow, smooth and curvy roads of Kerala and driven through the traffic and finally wanted to have our lunch at stopped at a random hotel in Thannipuzha. We lost Senthur and the car guys in the traffic and we thought that we will loose time in getting back together and decided to finish our lunch wherever we are as we lost good amount of energy to the bad roads and the heat which was starting to get irritated by this time.

So we finished our quick lunch and again back on the saddle. We met Senthur who was waiting ahead of us and the car guys covered a good distance ahead, since they bought some fruits and snacks and decided to skip lunch as they were not that hungry. So they were waiting at a point nearly 40kms ahead of us.

The exciting part!

So we proceeded towards them and just after crossing Thodapuzzha, the clouds suddenly turned dark and it started raining heavily. We parked our bikes on the sides below the trees but still were getting wet in a slow pace. So we tracked our car guys and found that they were only some hundred metres ahead of us and we decided to drive towards them to handover our mobiles and wallets.

So we met them and handed over the things and we decided to stick together from that point as there is no source of communication with the bikers and we have to follow the car guys as they had the GPS now.

And we started driving slowly as the rain was pouring heavily. We followed the single line formation and keep checking each other. So all of a sudden now Google asks us to take a right turn which just looked like a normal street and we took it. None of the vehicles which was before us or behind us turned here. We should have used our brains there and just skipped it. But we believed the Google master and took the bite.

And there it was. After some 100metres, the road just started to climb a nearly 45 degree angle and the roads condition was from good to very worst condition. We drove through very narrow, very steep, horrible roads with huge potholes and loose gravels and stones.

And it became darker soon. There was no houses that we saw, no people was travelling along with us or passing us in the opposite direction. We just felt the adventure that we are getting into and decided to proceed.

It was very difficult for both the car and bikes to drive through those roads. Suddenly we came to a visual of a waterfall which was falling from a high mountain. Since it was also raining heavily, the fall seemed to be huge and we decided to click some photos of it even in the rain. In the meantime, I didn’t dare to switch off my bike given the conditions we are actually in now. So it was left to idle.

We were travelling in speeds of 10 to 20kmph. The rain was drizzling all the way till we reached our hotel. I didn’t dare to go up in front of the group because of the poor light throw that I have in my bike. So I just followed the car which was showing a safe passage.

At one point of time, there was nothing on either side of us. No trees or rocks. We were confused whether we have come to plain roads again from the hill. That’s when the lightning struck and the flash of light showed us that we were actually on the topmost point of a mountain and can see the waves of other mountains standing by our side. It just gave us some wow visual experience.

Finally around 8 or 8:30PM we reached our hotel and had some nice dinner and slept.

Though we were tired, we just kept talking about the experience it gave us and none of us regretted for driving through it. It was the exciting part of our journey.

No. of stops taken: Plenty of short breaks as the road conditions were bad

Road Condition: Nice to worst.
Hotel: Chillax Vagamon. Good Experience.

[saratjyo]

Day 3:

Plan: Relaxing day at Vagamon

We decided to have a relaxing day. We woke up to a misty morning which later turned into a hot humid day. This was not a seasonal time to stay in Vagamon and we expected it to be so.

We just visited a few places and returned to our hotel rooms by noon. I left my bike to rest as it was still not able to start with the ignition switch. So I took over the driving of Eon.

Misty morning view


Fresh morning selfie




At Karikadu view point






We planned to go to Thangalpara. But google decided to take us somewhere unknown and we came to this which we happily accepted. No one was present around the place and we spent some time alone clicking pictures and Baskar couldn't control and took a dip in the falls.















Later we went to Pine forest which is a complete waste of time as we were not able to tolerate the heat. But we had good amount of mangoes and pineapples as we started feeling hungry.





Day 4:

Plan: Vagamon – Kumily – Theni – Dindigul – Trichy
Distance: 280kms



So we again woke up to the misty Vagamon morning and got ready and finished our breakfast to start our return journey towards Trichy. And by the time we started, the sun was again smiling at us.









The road towards Kumily was very well laid and scenic. Soon we reached the plains and started towards the Theni with roads sandwiched between the agricultural fields with mountains surrounding it.

We thought to have our lunch at Dindigul, but it was already lunch time when we were in Theni. So we decided to stop at the usual Dindigul Thalapakatti restaurant and have some yummy biryani. After the heavy lunch, we started our journey towards Dindigul and Senthur parted away to reach Madurai.

Once we reached Dindigul we stopped for some sugarcane juice. Trichy was around 100kms away from us.

After the juice break I tried shaking the ignition wire again that comes from the switch before trying to start it again. And this time it suddenly came to life and roared in the first attempt. Tested it couple more times but switching it off and on. And it worked perfectly. So with the relieve of my bike getting back to normal, we started off towards Dindigul.

Since the Dindigul to Trichy is well laid, we covered the 100kms within an hour and reached our hotel which we booked in Oyo.

Road condition: Good to Very Good.
Hotel: Oyo Rooms (Hotel Anbu Park). Good Experience.

Day 5:

Plan: Trichy – Chennai
Distance: 330kms



So the Day 5 task was just to reach home safely. We had a nice sleep and got freshen up and had our complimentary breakfast and packed our bags and started to our respective homes.

We started around 9 AM and took the same old route as on Day 1. As we finished our breakfast in our hotel and planned to have lunch in our homes, we took only 4 stops for hydrating ourselves. By 3 PM we all have reached our respective homes safe and sound.

Hope I have not bored anyone. If I did, I apologize for the same.

This is my first write-up and I gladly accept any feedback that you wanted to give me to improve it.

Road condition: Very Good

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues Section. Thanks for sharing!

[varunanb]

This is an awesome write up. Vagamon and Valparai are my favourites and are still unpolluted. I frequent Valparai for the drive to athirapalli and vagamon for the vast grasslands and numerous trekking opportunities around.

[majumon]

Nice one buddy, have done that route from Valparai to Athirapilly long ago but feel like doing it again. I liked the photo of your bike with the dam ahead.

The point where your bike refused to start, its considered unsafe to stop anywhere in between from the check post till you reach Athirapilly.

Surprise you guys did not take a dip at Athirapilly.

[saratjyo]

Originally Posted by varunanb

This is an awesome write up. Vagamon and Valparai are my favourites and are still unpolluted. I frequent Valparai for the drive to athirapalli and vagamon for the vast grasslands and numerous trekking opportunities around.

Thank you. I too wish that they stay unpolluted and less occupied.

Originally Posted by majumon

Nice one buddy, have done that route from Valparai to Athirapilly long ago but feel like doing it again. I liked the photo of your bike with the dam ahead.

The point where your bike refused to start, its considered unsafe to stop anywhere in between from the check post till you reach Athirapilly.

Surprise you guys did not take a dip at Athirapilly.

Thanks Majumon. Yes I like all the pictures that has my bike in it.

We didn't stop for a dip because it was already lunch time and we were hungry and the heat was rising. We wanted to cover up more distance before our lunch and hence we had to skip it. Also have been there for couple of times. Will plan one trip again in future with a stay near the falls.